These are a few of my favorite things...

-My home.  The one I have in Pennsylvania and the one I have here.  After a day of classes or time away both feel like a refuge and are full of love.

-My family.  Those in the US and mi mama and mi abuela here.  They are all so loving, caring, and supportive and without them I would be lost.

-My friends.  The ones from home who send me emails, skype me, and message me just to check in and send their love.  I am so grateful for true friendships that are not changed by distance or time apart.  My friends from here have been amazing as well.  I am so thankful for these words "...en mi tenes una amiga/hermana.  Entiendo lo dificil que es estar lejos de tu familia y amigos...podes confiar en mi." Or in English, "In me you have a friend/sister.  I understand how difficult it is to be far away from family and friends.  You can always count on me."  I've been here two months and have already formed a friendship that I know will last forever...how lucky am I?

-Tea time.  It warms my heart when I walk in my house from a long day of classes and mi abuela says "hola, como estas?  Queres un te?"  Or in English, "Hi, how are you, would you like some tea?"  I of course say yes, and I can tell she gets excited to be able to sit and have tea with me.  It doesn't matter how much homework I have to do, or if I'm not really even in the mood to drink tea, I will always say yes to her.  We sip our teas and talk about everything.  I tell her about my day, she tells me about her's and the conversation continues.  Everyone in the world should sit and have tea with mi abuela.  It will change you for the better.

-This city.  I am grateful for a city full of history, a city where on the weekends many shops are closed because here most people work to live...living to work is frowned upon.  A city in which the smells of panaderias permeate through the streets and kioskos tempt you with endless selections of delicious chocolate.  Minus the fact that robberies are common, this city is great.

-Spanish.  I am so far from perfect at it, but I am grateful for the fact that while I sit here and write this blog post, both Spanish and English come to mind.  I'm grateful for slow and steady improvements and for moments where the right complex verb tense comes to mind without much thought.  I love little victories and definitely celebrate them.  I am also grateful for this language in which love can be expressed using an array of different words, and for the beauty of this distinct Cordobes dialect.

-Culture.  I am grateful for kisses on the cheek and drinking mate.  For breakfasts of bread and late night dinners.  For taking buses everywhere and walking to the grocery store.  For surprise visits and no schedules.  For boliches and cheap, amazing tasting wine made in the province next store to Cordoba.  For endless hours spent talking with friends, without tv, without cell phones, without distractions, just real, genuine, intimate time spent building relationships.  For dulce de leche and empanadas and anything else mi abuela whips up.  For love between strangers and acceptance amongst all.

-What I find important.  Grades have their place, as do personal goals, but relationships are always more important.  My relationship with God, with my family, and with my friends should and hopefully from now on will always be more important than anything else.  Argentina has truly taught be the importance of being a relationally-driven person and from now on I hope that I will always stop to talk to someone, put homework aside to help a friend, be a better listener, and always make a point to be supportive, loving, and present.

-My barrio (neighborhood).  Despite being robbed on my front porch, I love this neighborhood.  I love that everyone walks everywhere, that it is very close to the center of the city, and that there is a little park that I can safely go for runs at around the corner from my house.  I am grateful for the little old lady who sells vegetables and fruits right out of her home, and for the kiosko where I can go to buy anything I need.  I am also so thankful that I am no longer afraid of here, of walking alone, and of motorcycles.  I am careful, but I am no longer living in fear because this feels so much like home and I don't think that one can be truly afraid of their home.

I am officially two months in and already thinking about how sad I will be to leave.  I miss home, but when I go home, I will miss it here.  At least I know that I will always have a place and people to come back here to...people who will be ready with open arms to lovingly welcome me at anytime.  I am feeling so blessed being able to call home two different places and I hope the next 3 months and couple weeks go slowly, are intentional, and that I continue to learn and grow. 
         

A mish-mosh

The past few days have been interesting.  My feelings have been a mix between excitement and happiness, along with sadness and missing home.  I just feel like a confused mess, but I've still had so much fun.

On Friday,  I had my first "class" (I use that word lightly because we are only graded on attendance) that takes place at a farm on the outskirts of the city.  There, we ride horses, cook, dance, eat, and play games (all things Argentine).  It was a blast, except for the fact that I am not that good at riding a horse.  I kid you not, all the other students were riding their horses in a single file line, and there I was with my horse in the middle of the field by myself going the opposite way.  The instructor told me that my horse was crazy and she even gave me a stick to hit the horse with.  I was just laughing the whole time as my horse neglected to follow every single direction that it was given. Regardless, it was super fun, and I didn't realize how much of a workout riding a horse is!  Me duelen las piernas.

We then made empanadas, and I can officially say that I know exactly how to make them, and they are surprisingly easy!  If you want the recipe, ask me!  While the empanadas were cooking, I played futbol with a little boy who lives there at the farm.  We took the ball down to the area where we rode horses and kicked it around in the horse poop/mud mixture.  It was so great to run around and play futbol with him, and I tried to not be too phased by the fact that he picked up a pile of horse poop with his bare hands and tossed it to the side.  I guess it was in his way.  This kid had no fear.  Then, we learned how to do a folklore dance.  This also was not my forte, but I enjoyed it and just laughed my way through.  And after we ate, we played a game called bochas, which is actually just bocci ball (I guess it's popular here!).  Overall, it was super fun and I'm excited to go back again next time!

On Friday night I went to a seminar in the Facultad de Trabajo Social (school of Social Work) at the university and there we discussed the rural poverty that exists in Argentina and what needs to be done about it.  To be honest, I didn't understand much, nor was I trying to.  I was exhausted at this point, everyone was talking at the same time, so a large part of me just quit trying to follow the conversation, and I just counted down the minutes until it was over so I could go home and sleep.  You win some, you loose some, I guess.

On Saturday, I went out on the town with this crazy:

I think she finally understood the idea of a selfie!!!

The two of us are trouble together.  We laugh SO MUCH.  

 

We walked from our house into el centro and there we walked around everywhere, went to a book fair, got ice cream, and she let me stop and take lots of pictures since I finally have a camera. Here's a few of them:

Mi casa

The view of el centro from my house.

And old, BEAUTIFUL church.

And another one.

La Plaza de San Martin

Laur, this is for you.  Yes there is crossfit here!

 

After we traveled by foot all over the city, we went to the apartment of mi abuela's sister to relax and visit for a bit.  I love sitting and talking with mi abuela and her sister.  They are adorable, so sweet, so loving, and so encouraging.  They could not imagine ever being separated from their loved ones for the amount of time that I have to be here away from my family, so they are very sensitive to that, and always wanting to love me.  We talked about my family, life in the US, life here, cultures, food, and anything else you could think of.  These ladies LOVE to talk, but I love it as well and really appreciate them and their willingness to be so open and loving towards someone that they just met two months ago. 

This picture is so bad, but in mi abuela's sister's apartment, she has a clock hanging up to represent each of the places she's traveled to and all of the time differences.  The three clocks in the middle are from left to right:  Los Angeles, Cordoba, and New York.  Also the three time zones that my family and I are living in right now.  My sister in the LA time, myself in Cordoba, and everyone else in NY time.  Seeing this made me think of my family and friends and how much I miss them and love them. I love it here so so so much, but I also miss my loved ones very much and can't wait to see them again.

 

Yesterday, my parents went to one of Eastern’s field hockey games and told me all about how they saw my friends, and saw the team kick some butt.  I think in that moment it actually hit me that life at home is continuing without me and that I am missing out on things with people who are so important to me.  I know that I am creating my own unique experience here and I do love it, but sometimes I wish I could be in two places at once, and yesterday was definitely one of those times.  I just felt a little bit sad and confused.  I don't want to leave here, but at the same time, I'd love to see my loved ones at home.  I think it's confusing because I am beginning to feel like I have two homes...here in Argentina will always be a "home" to me.  Someone smart once said that "home is where the heart is", and my heart is in two places, and I think it might always be.  It's confusing and weird and scary and great all at the same time.  

 

Tonight, I was able to go to church again. In church, the pastor talked about God filling the role of a father for all of us.  He told a story of the foster children that his son has welcomed into his home and how those children lack the feeling of belonging, the feeling of being wanted, the feeling of being loved, and the feeling of having a father.  The pastor began to cry as he shared the story and everyone in the room seemed to be completely immersed in what he was saying…at least I know I was.  He just kept noting that God is our father and HE WANTS US, regardless of where we are, what we are doing, or the mistakes that we have made.  And being here thousands of miles away from home, it feels good to have the reminder that His love is always the same-strong, true, and never-ending.  So as I embrace all of these confusing feelings and try to sort through them, I am reminded that no matter how many places feel like home to me, the important thing is that I always find a feeling of security and comfort in the Father.  Because my state might change.  My country might change.  My job might change.  The people surrounding me might change.  My interests might change. My thoughts, feelings, passions, and abilities might change.  My home will change.  But what is different is the love that our Father has for us, and that, well that will never change.        

 
 

 

Get ready...

I BOUGHT A CAMERA TODAY!!!! I am so past the point of caring that my iphone never made it here...I mean don't get me wrong, I still really want to get it, but I feel like I've been waiting to start doing some things for "when I have a camera."  There have been times when people have asked me to do cool things or go to cool places, and I just say "I'll go when I have a camera."  I've been here 7 weeks and have missed out on a few things because I thought it would be pointless without a camera.

Well now, no more excuses, because I bought an old Kodak camera and here goes.  This is just the beginning of what will be endless posts of fotos...unless I get robbed again.  Haha just kidding.  That was a joke.  Sorry mom.

Here is mi abuela and I both obviously so excited about my camera purchase:

I swear that I told here this picture was happening...I think she got shy.

  

And another try...we will work on this.  I am laughing in this picture...that's why my face looks the way it does.


And here go all the pics of mi casa.  I'll start with this for today, but get ready for much, much more.

La mesa.

 

 

La cocina looking out towards the front door.

 

 

Where the magic happens.

The magic is happening.

 

 

The dining room table.

The other side of the dining room.

 

 

La Pancha.  This dog hates me...she barks at me whenever I move.

Out back we have these really pretty flowers...and maybe my sweatpants hanging up to dry as well.  I should try and get crafty to take good pictures of pretty flowers.

I tried to rotate this, but it didn't work...sorry.  Have fun turning your computers sideways to look!  This is the back of our house! And the balcony up top is the balcony right outside my bedroom!

Well, that's it for now!  But I promise you there is much more to come.